*** Before we get to the ballot, here’s a post-game(s) update on Stanford’s situation: The Cardinal will hold its No. 4 spot in the BCS standings and is likely headed to the Fiesta Bowl to face Oklahoma State or Kansas State.

If third-ranked Oklahoma State and second-ranked Alabama flip flop, then the Crimson Tide would receive protection as an at-large team in the No. 3 position.

In that case, Stanford would lose the “Rule of Four” guarantee.

However, I believe the Fiesta will still take Stanford over its next best option, which would probably be Michigan at No. 13-14.

Hard to imagine the bowl dropping down 9-10 spots in the BCS ladder to grab a 2-loss team over a 1-loss team when the Fiesta’s executive director, Robert Shelton, is a Stanford graduate.

(I know what you’re thinking, but ticket sales won’t be an issue for the Fiesta: Both Oklahoma State and Kansas State would sell out the game — K State has traveled very, very well to Arizona for bowls.)

Look at it this way: If the Big 12 team is OSU, then the Fiesta would want to match No. 3 vs. No. 4 … And if the Big 12 team is K State ranked 8-10, then Fiesta would want a top-5 team on the other side … not a double-digit ranking.

Never in the 13-year history of the BCS has the No. 4 team been left out. This year won’t be the first.

*** To the ballot …

The big development came near the top: I moved Oklahoma State from No. 3 to No. 2, replacing Alabama.

The margin of victory didn’t matter much to me — I rarely take that into account when it’s AQ vs AQ and the winning team is the home team.

No, what mattered to me was what the Bedlam victory meant to Oklahoma State’s resume:

OSU’s advantage over Alabama in the number of quality wins now offsets Bama’s edge in the quality of the loss (Bama to LSU, OSU to Iowa State).

* I moved Wisconsin up to No. 9 after its neutral field win over Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. (The Spartans are No. 10.)

* The two teams that I’ve felt (for weeks) were grossly over-ranked in all the polls based on the quality of their wins, VaTech and Houston, both lost.